Kanye West 808's & Heartbreak Early Album Review

Kanye West is one of the most controversial figures in all of entertainment today. His views and music exemplify that persona. His albums have all been critical and commercial smashes. Now Kanye West is back with his forth album 808s & Heartbreak. The album is completely different than anything you have come to expect from Kanye as instead of rapping the album features Kanye primarily singing. Will 808s & Heartbreak catapult Kanye to the top of the pop charts?

The first single off of 808s & Heartbreak is the incredibly catchy and different Love Lockdown. The track is completely foreign than what you expect from Kanye West as an artist. The song is very Antares Autotune heavy and features strong African tribal drums during the chorus.

The second single is Heartless. The track is incredibly catchy and well produced and performed. The production almost has a circus appeal to it. This is one of the few tracks on the album where it seems like Kanye is in vintage Kanye mode.

Robocop is one of the more commercially friendly tracks on the album. It features an interesting combination of sound effects with the strong production on the track.

The album opens with Say You Will. The track really does a good job to showcase the theme of the album. The song is a perfect way to open an album that is very different than the material you expect from Kanye.

Tell Everybody That You Know features Lil Wayne. The song is very Autotune heavy as is the whole album. The song is fairly catchy however it is not one of the better tracks on the album.

Amazing features rapper Young Jeezy. The song is one of the more urban tracks on the album. Young Jeezy drops a solid verse that works well over the track production.

Paranoid features new artist Kid Cudi. The track is a catchy and well put together effort with Kid Cudi delivering the chorus.

Street Lights is one of the better tracks on the album. The song is completely more of the unexpected from Kanye. The track has a Coldplay appeal to it which is interesting in itself.

Welcome To Heartbreak once again features Kid Cudi. The track is fairly solid however the high point has to be the drum programming.

Bad News is yet another solid track off of 808s & Heartbreak. The song is one of the deepest tracks on the whole album. The writing and vocal delivery are incredibly deep and heartfelt.

The album closes with Coldest Winter which West has said is a dedication to his late mother Dr. Donda West. The track has a very 1980's synth-pop feel to it which works well with Kanye's haunting vocals.

808s & Heartbreak is one of the most abstract and outside the box albums in recent memory. The album just features an eclectic variety of songs from the highly creative Kanye West. Those expecting a traditional album from Kanye will be disappointed as this is like nothing you have heard before. However, if you are not afraid of different instrumentation, writing styles and production than this album may be exactly what you are looking for. Overall 808s & Heartbreak gets 8.5 out of 10. If you are a fan of Kanye West make sure you pick up 808s & Heartbreaks when it is available in stores on November 25^th.